Not a Date
by Brave orange blossom
Summary: After Link Joker, things are back to normal. Miwa bugs Kai-kun about asking Aichi out on a date. Aichi and Kai-kun hang out for the day but refuse to call it a date convinced the other doesn't like them back. Will they enjoy their day and will Kai-kun confess? Set after Link Joker. Slight spoilers. Ignores Legion Mate Hen. Kaichi/Kaiai. Oneshot.


**Disclaimer: **I do not own Cardfight! Vanguard

**Pairing: **Aichi x Kai (Kaichi/Kaiai)

**Author Notes:** Happy (late) Birthday Christine! Sorry guys. I know I've got other stories I could be writing but I wanted to write this one for my friend plus the plot bunny wouldn't leave me alone. After Link Joker. Slight spoilers. Ignores Legion Mate Hen. Oneshot.

Realize the title isn't that creative and I'm almost copying another person's title which was an accident. I'm sorry.

I hope you guys enjoy it!

**Not a Date**

"Stand up, my avatar! Ride! Blaster Blade Liberator!" Sendou Aichi called out as he placed the card on top of his current Vanguard. He was currently at Card Capital hanging out with his friends for the afternoon. He was dressed in a pink turtleneck, blue pants, black shoes and a white open jacket that he wore over the turtleneck. The blue haired boy was fighting at one of the Standing Fight Tables with a black haired girl.

Miwa Taishi smirked as Kai Toshiki openly watched the blue haired boy's fight. He and Kai were sitting at a table near the front counter. Miwa was wearing his school uniform. It had only been a few days after the Link Joker incident and it seemed like things were back to normal. What was normal? Miwa mused. Whatever happened between Kai and Aichi on top of the Tatsunagi Corporation building was big enough to affect their current relationship. The only thing that hadn't changed was how Aichi and Kai were horrible at hiding their feelings for each other.

The blond snickered at that thought. His friends were way too obvious about their feelings for each other. Everybody knew that they liked each other. The only people who didn't know were Aichi and Kai themselves. Kai, who was sitting across from him, turned to look at him. Miwa grinned mischievously. It was his time to shine as best friend to Kai Toshiki and as the relationship expert. … Well at least when it came to his friends' relationship.

Kai noticed the mischievous grin on the blond's face and prepared himself for the worst. "… What?" He was expecting the blond to tease him about watching Aichi's fight. He himself didn't see any problem with it since he had to keep tabs on how his rival and best friend was doing. He was wearing a black jacket that revealed the red long sleeved shirt he was wearing underneath, a red scarf around his neck, gray pants, a black belt and black shoes.

"Kai~ When are you going to ask Aichi out on a date?"

Kai blinked having not expected those words. Realizing what Miwa had asked, he quickly shot a glance to the blue haired boy making sure he didn't hear then shot a glare in Miwa's direction. "… That is none of your business." Knowing his blond friend as well as he did, he knew denying his feelings for Aichi would just make things worse. The brunet admitted to himself reluctantly that he didn't do a good job of hiding his feelings for Aichi. Miwa had known about his soft spot for Aichi from the start after all.

"Don't be like that. I'm trying to help you. I'm sure Aichi would be thrilled if you asked him out as well."

The brunet frowned. While it was true Aichi looked up to him and called him his idol (even after finding out he Reversed people out of his own will), he didn't think Aichi liked him like that. After what happened with the Reverse incident, even if Aichi somehow returned his feelings; he didn't deserve the blue haired boy. Kai had hurt him too much already.

Miwa noticed the silent behavior of his best friend and guessed it was because of what he said. He sighed shaking his head. His friend was hopeless. "Look Kai," He said getting the brunet's attention once more. "Instead of asking him out on a date, why don't you ask him to hang out with you? You guys can go somewhere together and just let your feelings take care of the rest." He winced internally. _That _Kai letting his feelings do the talking? Like that would happen.

"… I don't need your help. My relationship with Aichi is fine the way it is," Kai said looking away and closing his eyes. _That is a lie. I _need _Aichi. _Lately, being friends with him wasn't enough. He wasn't going to scare Aichi away by confessing though.

"Um… Is there something wrong with Kai-kun and I's relationship?" A new worried voice joined the conversation.

Kai opened his eyes and joined Miwa in looking over to see who it is. Miwa's eyes widened at seeing Aichi standing by their table. Did the younger boy hear what they were talking about? He laughed nervously watching out of the corner of his eyes as Kai unnoticed by Aichi tensed up his eyes looking away from the other. "Yo Aichi. I see you finished your fight. How much of our conversation did you hear?"

Aichi frowned as he noticed the brunet wasn't looking at him. Hearing the question, he looked at Miwa. "Not much. I heard Kai-kun say something about our relationship and was worried something was wrong with it." His eyes widened looking like he was about to panic. "There is nothing wrong with it right, Miwa-kun? Kai-kun?"

"Of course there is nothing wrong with it," Miwa hastened to assure the younger boy. He shot a glance at Kai silently telling him to say the same thing.

"… The idiot is right," Kai muttered still looking away from Aichi.

"'Idiot'? Do you mean me?" Miwa muttered sweat dropping.

Aichi calmed down with help from both of their assurances. "I'm glad. I wouldn't want my relationship with Kai-kun to change," He smiled at them.

Unknown to Aichi, his words had the opposite effect on Miwa and Kai. Miwa winced closing his eyes and looking away painfully. While he was sure Aichi wouldn't say that if Kai confessed to him, the words still hurt to hear and he knew the pain was worse for Kai.

Kai looked down at the table wanting to clench his hands into fists but not wanting to alert Aichi that there was something wrong. So that was it then. His feelings for the younger boy were one-sided. He should have known. He would never admit it to Miwa but there was a part of him that had been hoping Aichi felt the same as him. He groaned inwardly. Being in love was such a pain, what with his feelings going all over the place. Outwardly, he kept up his stoic façade not wanting Aichi to notice his inner pain.

Aichi blinked a few times looking confused at his friends' reactions. "Did I say something wrong? Miwa-kun? Kai-kun?"

The blond opened his eyes and looked at Aichi. "Don't worry. You said nothing wrong. I have a question for you, Aichi."

The blue haired boy tilted his head. After shooting Kai a concerned look, he looked at Miwa. "What is it?"

Even while looking down at the table, Kai could feel Aichi's concerned look. He didn't deserve Aichi's concern yet it made him happy. Even though he couldn't become Aichi's boyfriend, he was still the younger boy's best friend. He had to get used to that from now on. The brunet looked up from the table to look at Miwa.

Miwa noticed the brunet looking at him and smirked mischievously. Why not prove Kai wrong and help him at the same time? "You are free tomorrow, right?" Aichi nodded. "Why don't you hang out with Kai for the day?" Miwa said.

Aichi's eyes widened flushing pink at the thought. Kai's eyes widened shooting Miwa a glare.

"What do you say, Aichi?" Miwa asked trying to ignore Kai's glare.

"E-Eh? N-No I—"Aichi looked down to avoid their gazes his cheeks still pink. "I-I want to. I want to if Kai-kun is okay with it. Miwa-kun is coming too, right?" He looked up curiously.

"No. Tomorrow will be just you and Kai."

"E-Eh?! O-Only K-Kai-kun and I? B-But that is—"Aichi stopped talking, glanced at Kai then looked back down.

Kai frowned. Did that mean Aichi was opposed to it? It was bad enough his feelings were one-sided but now the younger boy wouldn't even hang out with him alone? He felt horrible yet in a way he knew he deserved this.

"Does that mean you don't want to?" Miwa asked. He himself already knew the answer but he was asking for Kai's sake.

"N-No. I-I want to," Aichi said. He looked up and over at Kai shyly. "What about Kai-kun?"

The brunet's eyes widened. Aichi wanted to hang out with him? He shot another glare at Miwa as if it was his fault for making him think negatively. He didn't want to agree knowing that it meant he was giving his blond best friend all the power and he didn't want the other's help especially when it came to his relationship with Aichi. But then again… Kai didn't want to hurt Aichi anymore. He raised a hand and reached out to Aichi.

Aichi's cheeks flushed pinker as Kai placed his hand on top of his head. "K-Kai-kun?" He murmured embarrassed.

Realizing what he did too late; Kai hastily removed his hand and brought it back to his side. He cursed himself silently. Why did he do that? He looked away feeling embarrassed.

Miwa, who had watched the whole scene, held up a hand to his mouth to hide his snickering. This was priceless. He should have taken out his phone to film these two. He stopped snickering and let his hand fall down to his side but the grin remained on his face. "Have fun on your date, you two."

Aichi and Kai looked at Miwa. "It isn't a date," They said together. They looked at each other realizing they said the same thing at the same time. The blue haired boy looked at Kai hopefully his cheeks still pink. Kai wasn't sure what Aichi's hopeful look was about. Maybe it was about him agreeing to hang out with Aichi.

"Of course not. My mistake. Here are your tickets," Miwa said taking the two tickets out of his pocket with one hand and handing them to their recipients.

Aichi and Kai looked down at their tickets. "M-Miwa-kun… What is this for?" Aichi asked confused.

"It is a train ticket, Aichi."

"What he means is why did you have these with you? Why give them to us?" Kai spoke up.

The blond shook his head at them. "You guys are so slow today. Wait… you guys are slow every day," He complained. Kai glared at him. Aichi sweat dropped rubbing the back of his head embarrassed. Miwa winced at Kai's glare. "Why are you in such a bad mood? If you are going to be like this tomorrow on you guys' date, I feel sorry for Aichi."

"It isn't a date," Aichi and Kai said together again. They looked at each other surprised it happened again.

"… Explain," Kai said looking at Miwa.

"Explain what? Why you are in such a bad mood? What a date is?" Miwa joked with a grin on his face. He winced once more as Kai glared at him.

The brunet shoved his ticket in the other's face. "Explain about this. Now," He growled.

Miwa shivered raising his hands to placate the brunet. "No need to get so hostile," He said. Even though Kai had changed a lot because of Aichi, there were some parts of him that stayed the same. His temper was one of those things. "I got those tickets for you two. They are for tomorrow."

"Miwa-kun. This ticket says it will take us to the town next to us. I've never been to the town next to us," Aichi said looking worried.

"Don't worry. You'll have Kai with you. He has been to the town next to us. He can protect you."

"P-Protect me?" Aichi flushed pink.

"Of course. You are—"

"Do not finish that sentence," Kai interrupted knowing what Miwa was about to say.

Miwa whistled innocently while Aichi looked on confused and oblivious to what the blond had been about to say.

Kai glanced at Aichi then looked at his ticket. While he didn't like the fact that Miwa was helping him, he had to admit he was happy at the opportunity to hang out with Aichi without any of their friends interrupting their time together. The brunet looked at Aichi noticing how the younger boy looked at the ticket in his hands and smiled. Yes, he was looking forward to tomorrow.

**ZZZZZZZZZZZZ**

The next morning, Kai was waiting for Aichi in front of the train station. He had his hands in his pants pockets as he leaned against a wall near the entrance. He was dressed in the same outfit as yesterday. Their meeting time was set early in the morning so the station was quite crowded as people made their way in and out. Luckily, the weather seemed to be on their side as the sun was out. There were some clouds in the sky and every so often, there was a light breeze. The brunet wondered if Aichi would be able to find him.

"Kai-kun," Aichi called out jogging up to him. The smaller boy was dressed in the same outfit as yesterday as well.

Kai looked to his left and saw Aichi was coming. He got off the wall as he waited for the other join him. "… Aichi."

"Good morning. I'm sorry I'm late. Have you been waiting long?"

The brunet watched as Aichi stopped in front of him. "… Not long. You are early. Are you alright?"

"Kai-kun… too. You… are early. Un, I'm… alright," Aichi said. He got his breath back a few moments later and smiled at the brunet.

Kai smiled a small smile. "Let's go."

"Un!" Aichi smiled cheerfully. He followed closely behind the brunet as they walked inside the station.

They kept getting jostled as they made their way to their destination. The older boy scowled. The station was just as busy as when Kai first showed up to wait on Aichi. The older boy stepped out of the crowd, stopped and looked behind him making sure Aichi was still following him. Noticing the smaller boy was having trouble with the crowd; he reached out and grabbed the other's wrist dragging him until the smaller boy's face smacked into his back. "You should be more careful. Stay close to me," He said inwardly sighing with relief. It was good he grabbed Aichi when he did. If he had looked behind him any later than he did, he was afraid Aichi might have been swallowed up by all of the people.

Aichi rubbed his forehead with his free hand cheeks flushing pink as the older boy continued to hold onto his wrist. "Sorry, Kai-kun. I-Is this necessary though?"

"… What?"

Aichi gestured to their hands cheeks still flushed. Somehow their hands had moved into the position of holding hands when they were talking.

Kai's cheeks flushed a light pink. How did he not notice he was holding onto Aichi's hand? He turned his head around so that the smaller boy didn't see his flush. "… If you don't like it, you can let go. But if you do let go, make sure to grab onto the back of my jacket tightly so that you stay close to me."

Aichi shook his head and walked a few steps so he was right next to the brunet. "T-This is fine. L-Let's go," He murmured tightening his grip on the other's hand.

Kai glanced at Aichi noticing his flushed cheeks and feeling the other tighten his grip. He held onto Aichi's hand firmly not wanting to lose the smaller boy as they walked to their train. He started walking forward once more with Aichi beside him this time.

After getting their tickets checked, Kai stepped aboard the train first. He looked around wondering if there was an empty train car they could go sit in. Feeling the warm presence beside him, he looked at the smaller boy who had moved closer to him. "Aichi."

"S-Sorry. I felt unnerved by the staring. Kai-kun makes me feel safe."

The staring hadn't gone unnoticed by the brunet either. While he wasn't uncomfortable like Aichi was, the amount of staring they were getting was ridiculous. It made him wonder why they were attracting so much attention. If there was anything good that came out of the staring, it was the fact that Aichi's body was really close to his. That and the fact that the smaller boy said he felt safe around him. "… Let them stare then. Let's go," He muttered pulling the blue haired boy forward as he started walking once more.

Aichi let out a surprised noise as he was pulled forward. He looked around for an open spot where they could sit or stand if they had to.

Walking into the next train car, Kai noticed this one wasn't as crowded as the other one. He knew that would change soon as there was still time before the train started moving. Aichi let out a breath relieved they weren't being stared at anymore beside him. The brunet led the other to an open spot away from the others in the car. He stood by their seats letting Aichi sit down first. After he sat down, Kai sat beside him. As they waited for the train to leave, the brunet pulled his hand forgetting he was still holding onto Aichi's hand making the other yelp as he fell headfirst into his lap.

Kai looked down surprised to find Aichi's head in his lap. Aichi's cheeks flushed pink as he looked up at the brunet. The smaller boy quickly scurried away sitting beside Kai and looking away from him now. "S-Sorry," Aichi murmured embarrassed.

The older boy looked away raising his free hand to his face to hide the slight flush on his cheeks. "… No. That was my fault. Sorry."

The train whistled letting everyone know that it was time to go. More people started piling into their car making Aichi scoot closer to the brunet so that other people had more room to sit down. As the train started moving, Kai noticed how Aichi continued to hold his hand. Did it not bother him as much as he thought it would or did he just forget about it?

"Oh dear. This is horrible. This car is crowded as well."

Kai and Aichi looked up to see an elderly man with a metal walker in front of them. The man was looking around for a seat a devastated look on his face.

"I'm sorry honey. We should have left earlier. It is my fault," The man said to the elderly man beside him.

"It is okay. I don't blame you. All these people will get out and go to their jobs once we arrive at the next couple of stops anyway. I'm okay with standing," The other man said smiling at him.

"But honey…!"

Aichi stood up and Kai quickly followed suit. "Sir, you can sit in our seats if you want," Aichi offered smiling at them.

The elderly couple looked at them noticing them for the first time. "What a cute couple! You two on a date?" The second man asked.

Aichi flushed pink looking away. Kai looked away trying not to show his embarrassment.

"You two are so cute together. You two are still in that phase where everything is embarrassing, right? I remember that phase like it was yesterday," The second man continued.

"Stop teasing them, honey. Are you sure we can sit in your seats? We'll be fine standing," The first man said.

Aichi looked back at the couple smiling once more. "Please. I insist you take our seats. Kai-kun and I will be fine standing, right Kai-kun?" He looked over at the brunet.

"… Yeah. Please take our seats," Kai said looking at the couple. He and Aichi moved out of the way and gestured for the elderly couple to sit down.

"Not only are you two cute, you are kind as well. Thank you very much. We'll take your kind offer then," The second man said smiling at them. He sat down on the seat previously occupied by Aichi.

The first elderly man smiled at them. "Thank you very much. I'm sorry about my husband teasing you. I hope your date goes well," He whispered to them. He sat down on the seat previously occupied by Kai.

"… It isn't a date," Aichi murmured embarrassed. He and Kai moved over to the door to give the couple their privacy and so they could hold onto the metal pole that was near there.

Aichi and Kai held onto the pole with their free hands. They spent the rest of the trip in silence patiently waiting for their stop. Sometime later as the train slowed down and came to a stop, the smaller boy let go of the other's hand making the brunet look at him. "W-We don't need to… to do that anymore, right?" Aichi murmured looking away from the other unable to voice what they had been doing out loud.

The older boy didn't bother to respond unsure if his response would matter. As the doors opened, they let go of the pole and started walking out of the train. After making their way off the platform, Aichi's eyes widened at all of the people that were inside the station. He hurriedly grabbed Kai's hand not caring that his cheeks flushed pink as he did so. Noticing how Kai looked over at him after he had let go not too long ago, he gulped nervously. "I-I'm sorry. I know I let go of your hand not too long ago and an apology probably isn't enough but—"

"… It is fine. At least this way, I won't have to worry about you getting lost somewhere without me," Kai interrupted him with a smirk. He felt grateful that he was able to mask his emotions around Aichi. There was no need for him to know that Kai was happy and embarrassed at holding his hand again.

"I wouldn't get lost," Aichi pouted.

The brunet continued smirking as they started walking out of the station. The blue haired boy kept a firm grip on the other's hand as they walked. After they exited the station, they stopped under a tree away from the crowd of people.

"Kai-kun. What are we going to do today? I've never been to this town before so I don't know what kind of places there are around here," Aichi spoke up after a few minutes of silence.

"We could go see a movie. There is also a card shop I've been to before."

Aichi's eyes lit up at the mention of a card shop. "Really? A card shop? Let's do both then. We have enough time since we left so early in the morning."

"… Are you sure? If we want to see a movie that will cut into the time we'll be spending at the card shop, you know," Kai pointed out. He hadn't failed to notice how the blue haired boy's eyes lit up at the mention of a card shop. It was quite cute.

"Un. Let's do both. … Unless you don't want to?" Aichi looked disappointed.

"It is fine. While we are here, we can grab lunch somewhere as well."

Aichi smiled looking happy again. "Un sounds good." They started walking on the sidewalk once more. "Kai-kun. Where are we going first?"

"… Card shop," Kai muttered looking straight in order to avoid looking at Aichi's happy face. They walked with the brunet guiding them. Several minutes later, the brunet noticed the card shop.

Aichi's eyes lit up as he noticed the card shop as well. It looked different than Card Capital which was to be expected. The shop was in a big plaza and it didn't look that big on the outside. The shop had a sliding door entrance and a normal door entrance. The blue haired boy let go of the other's hand once they reached the shop. Kai opened the door and gestured for Aichi to go in first. "Thank you, Kai-kun," Aichi said smiling at him. He walked inside the shop eyes widening at how big it was.

Kai nodded and walked inside the shop after Aichi. He had been to the shop a few times in the past when he was searching for strong Card Fighters. The first time he had entered the shop, he had been surprised at how big it was just like Aichi.

"Welcome," A female's voice called out to them from their left.

Aichi and Kai looked over to their left to see a teenaged girl behind the front counter. She had on the shop uniform and was smiling in their direction. "Um, good morning," Aichi said timidly. The brunet beside him just nodded at the girl then turned his attention to the shop noticing that for a weekend morning, it had a lot of customers.

"Hey, I remember you! You came to this shop before and would always beat everybody. Are you searching for more strong opponents today?" The girl said excitedly to Kai.

Kai glanced in the girl's direction then proceeded to ignore her.

"Kai-kun. Don't ignore her. She was talking to you," Aichi chided lightly.

"Oh, you are with company today. That is rare. The few times I saw you, you were alone. Is this your girlfriend?" The girl asked.

Aichi looked down his cheeks flushing pink.

The brunet glanced over at his friend then glared at the girl. "… Aichi is a boy," He said. He grabbed Aichi's wrist and started dragging him away from the front counter ignoring the blue haired boy's protests.

"Ehehe~ I think I upset him," The girl murmured to herself sweat dropping as she watched them walk away. She grabbed her chin with one of her hands and assumed a thinking position. "Wait… 'Aichi'? Where have I heard that name before?"

Kai let go of the other's wrist once they reached a part of the card shop that didn't have a lot of people around. He sat down at a table and took out his deck case. The blue haired boy sat across from him taking out his deck case as well. Kai took out his deck smirking at Aichi as if he issued a challenge. Aichi nodded a determined look on his face as he placed his starting vanguard face down and started shuffling his deck. The brunet followed his example and once he was done placed the deck down and drew five cards from his deck.

"I can go first right, Kai-kun?" Aichi asked drawing five cards after he finished shuffling.

Kai nodded. "… You ready?"

"Un."

"… Imagine it," Kai said.

Both of them held their hands in one hand as the other hand went to their face down card. They imagined appearing on Cray standing opposite the other on the battlefield. "Stand up-"

"The," Kai said.

"Vanguard," They said in unison flipping their cards face up.

ZZZ

After their fight ended, Aichi looked up at Kai and smiled. He opened his mouth about to ask something when the sound of applause interrupted him. He and Kai looked over surprised to see that their part of the shop was private no more. There were many kids and teenagers around their table who had presumably watched their fight.

"That fight was amazing!" A kid called out grinning.

"We've never seen you before. You two are really strong though," Another kid said.

"It was such a close fight. It was so exciting to watch and I didn't want either of them to lose," A kid said to his friend.

"I know! They are really strong," Another kid said.

Aichi's cheeks flushed pink at all of the attention and compliments. Kai acted like he was ignoring everything going on but that really wasn't the case. He was paying close attention to Aichi and making sure the other wasn't uncomfortable.

A kid walked up to Aichi and looked at him. "You want to fight?"

Aichi hesitated looking at Kai. Today was supposed to be their day to hang out. He wanted to spend it with Kai. Would it be alright if he fought somebody that wasn't the brunet? Kai nodded letting him know with his eyes that he didn't mind if Aichi fought somebody else. The blue haired boy smiled gratefully at him then looked at the kid who asked him for a fight. "Yes. Let's fight."

Aichi, the kid who challenged him and the crowd of kids walked over to the Standing Fight Tables. Kai stood up and followed them keeping an eye on Aichi and the crowd just in case. He stood off to the side leaning against the wall closest to Aichi so that he could watch the fight and see the blue haired boy at the same time.

As the fight started, Kai's eyes looked around the crowd making sure none of them were too close to Aichi. Noticing one of the kids recording the fight on his phone, Kai got off the wall; stepped forward and grabbed the phone.

"Oi! Give that back!" The kid said turning around and reaching for the phone angrily.

Kai glared at the kid. The kid's angry look disappeared, a scared look taking its place.

The brunet was _furious_. Why did this kid think he could just film somebody's fight without their permission? On top of the anger he was already feeling, he felt it increase more as he remembered the kid was trying to film one of _Aichi's _fights. It took a few seconds to figure out how the kid's cell phone worked but Kai managed to stop the video and delete it. "… Unless you have permission, never film people's fights especially _his_," The brunet's eyes looked over at Aichi then back at the kid. "Or you'll regret it," He growled a dangerous glare on his face.

"I-I-I-I u-u-u-understand," The kid said shakily.

Kai tossed the kid's phone back, the kid barely catching it. The kid walked away a frightened look still on his face. Kai walked back over to the wall and leaned against it on alert more than ever after what just happened. A few kids who were thinking about challenging Kai walked up to him. Noticing the glare on his face, they gulped nervously; turned around and walked away.

Kai himself didn't notice the kids who had come up to him nor the fact that they walked away as he was still watching Aichi and the crowd. After the fight ended with Aichi's victory, the brunet smiled a small smile as Aichi turned around to smile at him.

"Shit!" Aichi's opponent said banging a fist on the table. Their outburst and the noise got everyone's attention including Aichi and Kai. "Shit! I lost again!" A frustrated and angry look was on his face as he banged the table over and over again.

Kai frowned getting a bad feeling. He quickly made his way through the crowd and to Aichi's side. "… Get your deck together. We're leaving," He muttered to the blue haired boy keeping his eyes on Aichi's opponent.

Aichi looked at the brunet surprised to find him so close to him. "Eh? What do you mean? We just arrived not too long ago. I only had two fights," He murmured back.

The older boy cursed in his mind as Aichi took his eyes off of his opponent. Didn't Aichi feel that something was wrong? "… It doesn't matter. Let's go."

The blue haired boy frowned but did as he was told. He gathered his deck and put the cards back into the deck case. After putting the deck case into his waist deck holder, he looked up at Kai.

Kai impulsively held Aichi's hand in his own as they walked to the exit. Aichi's cheeks flushed pink but didn't protest to the hand holding.

"'Aichi'. 'Aichi'. Where did I hear that name before?" The girl behind the front counter murmured to herself. She heard one of the kids mention something about how the Liberator user was really strong. Her eyes widened that word sparking a memory. "Sendou Aichi!" She yelled out getting everyone's attention including Aichi and Kai.

Aichi and Kai stopped near the front counter. "Yes? You know me?" Aichi asked confused.

"… Idiot," Kai muttered to him. Aichi tilted his head looking confused at the older boy's insult.

"No wonder he was so strong. He is Sendou Aichi-san," A kid called out. The crowd of kids was now looking at them.

"Ah," Aichi said realizing too late why Kai called him an idiot. He sweat dropped smiling sheepishly at the other boy beside him.

"You can't mean _the _Sendou Aichi? There is no way that kid is him!" Another kid said disbelievingly.

"But that is him. Hey, isn't that Kai Toshiki-san with him?" A kid called out.

The crowd of kids gasped and looked at Kai as if noticing him for the first time. "I can't believe it! Sendou Aichi-sama and Kai Toshiki-sama in the flesh!"

The crowd of kids started walking forward pushing each other out of the way as they tried to reach their idols before the other kids. "Autograph, please," A few kids called out.

"Who cares about autographs? Aichi-sama, please look at my deck and give me advice," A few kids called out. Kai's eye twitched at the people calling Aichi's name tempted to just exit the shop and hide the other in his apartment.

"'S-Sama'? There is no need to address me like that," Aichi said looking flustered.

"No wonder I lost. I was fighting against Aichi-san. I wouldn't lose against a random kid anyway," Aichi's opponent said haughtily. "Forget those idiots. Aichi-san, please fight me again. I won't lose this time!" He came forward.

Kai narrowed his eyes. He _really _disliked this kid. The brunet was glad he paid attention to his bad feeling and got Aichi out of there before it got worse.

The crowd of kids came closer to the two of them wanting to touch and talk to their idols. Kai shot a glance at Aichi noticing how uncomfortable he looked. He caught Aichi's eye and turned around starting to walk. Aichi nodded walking with him as they exited the shop. The blue haired boy turned his head around and made a surprised noise. Kai looked back surprised to see the crowd of kids following them. They started running away as the crowd chased after them calling out their names.

ZZZ

Aichi and Kai panted as they attempted to get their breath back. They ran around the whole town trying to lose the crowd of kids that followed them. Unfortunately it hadn't been long until Aichi couldn't run anymore. Kai had pulled Aichi close to him hugging him as they hid behind a trash can in an alley near where they were. Aichi's cheeks had turned pink but he didn't try to break the embrace which the brunet was happy about. Luckily, the crowd of kids ran past without spotting them. After all of the kids ran past their hiding spot, Kai had let go of Aichi reluctantly.

The older boy stood up after a few moments and leaned against the wall nearest Aichi patiently waiting for the other. Not too long after, Aichi stood up and walked closer to the brunet. Kai's eyes widened opening his mouth to warn the other about the empty beer bottle in the other's path. But it was too late as Aichi promptly tripped over it. Kai moved off the wall quickly catching the other boy and supporting him by placing his hands on the other's shoulders. "Are you alright?" The brunet looked him over just in case.

The blue haired boy's cheeks flushed pink once more. "U-Un. I'm alright. Sorry, Kai-kun. Thank you."

After seeing no injuries, Kai let go of him. "… It is nothing. Don't apologize. You should be more careful." He was glad the blue haired boy was not hurt.

Aichi nodded sweat dropping.

They walked to the entrance of the alley and looked out of it cautiously. There were no signs of the kids anywhere. Aichi held his breath afraid they would show up out of nowhere and looked at the brunet. The brunet felt the other's look and guessed Aichi was waiting on him to make the first move. Kai looked over at Aichi, nodded and started walking out of the alley. The blue haired boy breathed out relieved and quickly caught up to the other.

Aichi and Kai walked around the town being wary in case they were recognized and chased after again. They walked through a park and the brunet glanced over at the clock tower that was in the middle of the park. It was almost noon. "Aichi."

The smaller boy looked over at him as they walked. "What is it, Kai-kun?"

"… I know it is a little early but do you want to go get lunch?"

"Un. That sounds good. I'm getting hungry," Aichi smiled at him. A few moments after Aichi spoke, a loud growling noise came from the smaller boy's stomach. The brunet smirked amused. The smaller boy's smile disappeared, his cheeks turning pink.

"… It sounds like you are indeed hungry. Come on. I know a good place," Kai continued to smirk as he looked at Aichi.

Aichi nodded as he avoided the other's gaze still feeling embarrassed.

Guiding Aichi to a café that he ate at before, Kai glanced over wondering if the other was still embarrassed. To his surprise, the blue haired boy was looking around with a smile on his face. He was glad the other was feeling better. He hadn't wanted to upset the smaller boy with his teasing.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the café. The brunet opened the door and let Aichi go in first. Aichi smiled gratefully at him and walked inside the café. After the brunet joined him, they walked to an open table near the back and away from the window. The blue haired boy sat down in his seat watching as Kai sat opposite him.

"Do you think we are safe here, Kai-kun?" Aichi asked looking worried.

The brunet didn't have to ask the other to clarify. He knew what the other boy was talking about. "Ah. We'll be safe here."

"You are right. We even sat away from the window and near the back of the café just in case. I'm glad," Aichi smiled relieved.

A waiter clad in the café's red and black uniform walked up to them holding two menus and two napkin wrapped silverware in his hands. He bowed to them. "Welcome to Hikari's Café. Here are the menus and silverware. Can I start you two off with some drinks?" After straightening from his bow, the waiter placed the menus and silverwares on their table in front of them, got out a notepad and pen and smiled at them.

"… Black coffee," Kai said looking at the menu.

"Black coffee? Yes sir. A good choice!" The waiter said writing Kai's order down. He looked at Aichi after he was done. "And you?"

"I'll have the chocolate milkshake, please," Aichi said smiling at the waiter.

"Chocolate milkshake? Yes sir. Another good choice!" The waiter wrote down Aichi's order. After repeating their orders back to them, he put the notepad and pen into his black apron pocket. "I'll get those drinks for you two right away. In the meantime, why don't you look at our lunch options on the menu? Please enjoy your stay here," He bowed to them then walked away.

Aichi looked at Kai surprised to see the brunet was just sitting there. "You know what you want, Kai-kun?"

Kai nodded. "What about you, Aichi?"

"Un, I do. You said you came to this café before, right? Was the food delicious?"

Kai nodded again. "… Ah. It was."

"That is good," The blue haired boy smiled at him. "That reminds me. You went to that card shop before right?"

"… Ah. When Ren was still in his Psyqualia induced state, I went there a few times to see if I could find any strong Card Fighters."

"How was it? Did you find any strong Card Fighters?" Aichi asked curiously.

"No, I didn't," The brunet frowned. He looked away from the other boy. "It doesn't matter now though."

"Eh? Why do you say that?" The blue haired boy's head tilted.

"… Because the person who I'm currently trying to surpass is sitting across from me right now."

Aichi smiled brightly at him. "Kai-kun!"

The waiter came back with their drinks on a tray not too long after. "Here is your black coffee, sir. Please be careful as it is hot." He picked up the cup and placed the coffee in front of Kai. He picked up Aichi's milkshake then placed it in front of him. "Here is your chocolate milkshake, sir." The waiter took out two straws from his apron and placed them on the table. He took out his notepad and pen once more. "Are you two ready to order? Today's special is our famous grilled teriyaki tofu sandwich."

After thanking the waiter for their drinks, Aichi and Kai ordered their lunch. The waiter picked up their menus and repeated their orders back to them. "I understand. I'll place your orders right away," He said placing the pen and notepad back into his apron. The waiter winked at Kai then walked off after bowing to them.

Aichi placed his straw into his drink then looked at the other straw on the table. "Why did the waiter give us two straws? You don't drink coffee with a straw, right?" He asked confused.

Kai wondered about the waiter's wink towards him. Normally he wouldn't care or think about it. If the wink was directed towards Aichi, that would be a different story though. Hearing Aichi's question, his mind remembered something Miwa once told him. The blond had talked to him about relationships. He told him about how a lot of couples like drinking from the same drink at the same time. Sometimes they even do it with the same straw. Apparently it was supposed to be romantic. Kai didn't know why he bothered to remember that. Guessing that the waiter was winking towards him because of that, he narrowed his eyes. Why was everybody assuming they were on a date? They weren't on a date.

Aichi looked at him his adorable confused look still on his face. "Kai-kun?"

The brunet blew on his coffee a little then took a small sip. He looked away from Aichi as he set his cup back down on the table. "… I don't know."

"So Kai-kun doesn't know either," The smaller boy murmured oblivious to the fact that he was being lied to. He sipped his milkshake a smile appearing on his face. "This is delicious. Is Kai-kun's coffee good?"

"… Ah."

"I'm glad," Aichi smiled taking another sip.

They sat in silence as they quietly sipped their drinks. When they had arrived at the café, there weren't many customers inside. Now that it was lunchtime, there were more people coming inside the café and filling up the other seats. Aichi looked around the café making sure none of the people that entered were the same kids from before. Kai acted like the loud volume of the café didn't bother him, continued to sip his drink and glanced at the blue haired boy when the other wasn't looking.

Forty five minutes later, the waiter walked up with their meals. Aichi and Kai thanked the waiter for their meals. After setting their meals down and asking if they needed anything else, he bowed to them then walked away.

Aichi picked up his turkey and cheese sandwich and took a bite of it. "This is delicious," He smiled happily. He looked at Kai's grilled teriyaki chicken sandwich. "That looks delicious as well. How is it, Kai-kun?"

The brunet nodded. "Delicious."

"I'm happy to hear that," Aichi said smiling. He took another bite of his sandwich.

The waiter came back a smile on his face. "How is it? Is everything delicious?" He flinched looking scared as Kai glared at him.

"Yes. Everything is delicious," Aichi said smiling at the waiter oblivious of the tension between Kai and the waiter.

"I-Is that so? I'm glad," The waiter said trying to regain his professional composure. A customer from another table called for the waiter making him excuse himself so that he could go tend to them.

As he watched the waiter walk away, Aichi tilted his head. "It seems like being a waiter would be hard. What do you think, Kai-kun?" He looked at the brunet.

"… I don't know. It probably would be hard for you since you are so clumsy," The brunet teased him.

Aichi's cheeks flushed pink at the tease. "I-I only tripped once," He pouted.

"… You tripped during the shop tournament."

The blue haired boy's eyes widened. "T-That was before the tournament started. H-How do you know about that?" He squeaked embarrassed.

"When Miwa and I came in, you were picking yourself up from the floor. You don't need to be a genius to figure out what happened, Aichi."

The blue haired boy moaned lifting his hands and hiding his pink face. He couldn't believe Kai had noticed that. He was so uncool. He blinked a few times as he realized something. Letting his hands fall to his sides, he looked at Kai once more. "You were paying attention to me even back then?" He asked surprised.

Kai cursed in his mind. Of course Aichi would notice what his words meant. Picking up his cup and drinking some coffee, he looked away from the other. "… Ah."

Aichi smiled happily at him. "Kai-kun!"

The brunet took another bite of his sandwich not looking at Aichi.

After they finished their food, the waiter came back to their table. He picked up their dishes then looked at them. "Do you want anything else? Refills on your drinks maybe? Would you like some dessert?"

Aichi looked at Kai. The brunet shook his head. "No, we're full. Thank you very much," Aichi said looking at the waiter.

"I understand. I'll put these up then I'll grab your bill," The waiter said walking away with the dishes in his hands.

The smaller boy took out his wallet wondering if he had enough money to pay for both of them. He opened his wallet nodding as he saw that he had enough (assuming their meals weren't expensive of course).

Kai watched Aichi out of the corner of his eyes wondering what the other was doing. As soon as he saw the wallet though, he understood what was going on. He rolled his eyes. There was no way he was going to let the other pay for both of them by himself.

Several minutes later, the waiter came back with their bill. He placed the bill at the end of their table. "Thank you very much for eating at Hikari's café. We appreciate your patronage. I hope you enjoy the rest of your date."

Aichi's cheeks flushed pink once more. "W-We aren't on a date," He said flustered.

Kai narrowed his eyes at the waiter annoyed that he seemed to think they were on a date as well.

"Oh, my mistake. I hope you enjoy the rest of your day then. Please come eat at Hikari's Café again sometime," The waiter said bowing to them. He walked away to get another table's order and to avoid Kai's glare.

Aichi giggled nervously. Why did everybody seem to think they were on a date?

They got up from the table, Kai grabbing the bill before Aichi could. As they walked to the exit, they looked at the bill to see how much they had to pay then took out their wallets. After arguing about who was going to pay the bill (Kai eventually getting Aichi to back down and letting him pay for their meals), they walked outside noticing the dark clouds in the sky.

"Was it supposed to rain today, Kai-kun?" Aichi frowned looking up at the sky.

"… Morning forecast said a twenty percent chance for our city and surrounding areas."

"Really? Only twenty?"

Kai didn't answer as they started walking down the sidewalk. "Do you still want to go see a movie, Aichi?" He spoke up after a few minutes.

"Un, I do. We don't have to go if you don't want to though," Aichi smiled at him.

"It is fine. Let's go," Kai muttered.

Neither of them even thought of trying to go back to the card shop thinking that the kids from before might be there. Even though he himself never went to the movie theatre when he visited the town before, Kai knew the way there so once again he guided the other to the place they were going to.

After watching the movie (Kai and Aichi agreed to watch some sci-fi movie that had Vanguard units in it), they walked back to the train station. Aichi paid for their tickets and although it was still early, they boarded the train choosing to sit in a car that didn't have many people inside yet. The blue haired boy sat down then looked at the brunet as he sat beside him. "Did you enjoy the movie, Kai-kun?"

"Ah."

"I'm glad. Were you surprised when Blaster Blade Liberator showed up? All the units that had appeared in the movie so far were all common cards so I thought the chance of Blaster Blade showing up was close to zero," Aichi said smiling.

"… Ah. That was a nice surprise. I'm glad he appeared in the movie," Kai said smiling a small smile.

"Me too. He even spoke during the movie. He was so cool fighting those aliens!" Aichi said excitedly.

Kai nodded. "… As expected of your avatar," He said quietly.

The blue haired boy's head tilted at that. "Don't you mean _our _avatar, Kai-kun?" He asked looking confused.

The older boy's eyes widened remembering how Aichi had called Blaster Blade their avatar when he fought him at the top of the Tatsunagi Corporation building during the Link Joker incident. "Ah. As expected of _our _avatar," He corrected himself smiling a small smile again.

Aichi's happy smile came back onto his face.

They spent the rest of the time talking about the movie they watched. Like always, Kai didn't talk a lot and mainly just listened to Aichi speak but whenever he was asked a question or had something to say; he would speak up. The train whistled letting everyone in the train and near the platform that it was time to go. A few more people managed to squeeze into their now crowded car at the last second.

As the train started moving forward slowly, Kai took out his cell phone. He looked over at Aichi noticing the other boy had taken out his deck and was going through the cards with a soft smile on his face. He looked back at his cell phone and opened Cray Wars. The brunet played it for a few minutes nodding as he finished a hard quest that he had gotten stuck on before.

"Kai-kun plays Cray Wars as well?"

Kai looked over surprised to find the blue haired boy leaning over to look at his phone screen. The other's deck was put away making the brunet guess that the other boy was done looking through his deck. Aichi looked up at him, smiled then looked at his screen once more.

"You chose Dragon Empire, right?"

"… Ah. You chose United Sanctuary, right?" Kai muttered.

"Un."

"… I see," The brunet muttered. He played his game for a few more minutes with Aichi watching him play. "Aichi," He muttered getting the other's attention. "Do you want to fight?"

Aichi's eyes lit up a smile on his face. "Is it okay?"

"… Ah."

The blue haired boy got out his cell phone and opened Cray Wars. He looked at Kai a determined look on his face. "I won't lose, Kai-kun."

Kai smirked. "I won't lose either, Aichi."

They had a few fights with each other and afterwards, Aichi became friends with Kai which he was happy about.

ZZZ

After the train took them back home, Kai escorted the smaller boy back to his house. The sun had set while they were on the train. The brunet was glad that it never ended up raining on them. They now stood in front of Aichi's gate about to say good bye to each other. "… Are you sure I shouldn't escort you to the door, Aichi?" Kai asked.

"Thank you for the offer, Kai-kun. But here is fine," The blue haired boy smiled at him.

"I see."

They stood in front of each other unsure what to say neither of them wanting to say good bye just yet. Remembering why he agreed to hang out with Aichi today, Kai opened his mouth. "Did you have fun today, Aichi?"

Aichi nodded his smile still on his face. "I had a lot of fun. Thank you, Kai-kun. Thank you for paying for lunch."

"… No need for thanks. You paid for our tickets back home so we are even."

"No. You paid for our movie tickets so we aren't even," The smaller boy frowned at him.

The brunet resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Whatever. You can just pay for us next time we go out then."

Aichi nodded. "That sounds good," He said. His eyes widened as the other's words finally sunk in. "Wait… next time?"

Kai's eyes widened at his slip up. He cursed in his mind looking away from the other.

"Kai-kun?"

"I… Well, you know what Miwa is like. I'm sure he'll try to make us hang out with each other again. He is a meddler after all," Kai muttered. He pushed away thoughts of confessing to the smaller boy.

Aichi sweat dropped knowing that the other was right and that Miwa would do something like that again. "I see. That is what you meant by next time."

The older boy nodded relieved that Aichi bought that.

A determined look went onto Aichi's face surprising Kai. "Kai-kun… Please close your eyes," Aichi said stepping closer to the other.

The brunet was tempted to step back and create distance between them. He had been lucky today in that Aichi didn't protest to any of his affectionate gestures and he was afraid of taking things up a notch. He looked down at the other's lips as Aichi spoke again not hearing his words. Pushing away thoughts of kissing Aichi, he looked at the other boy.

"Kai-kun. Did you hear me?"

"… What?"

"Please close your eyes," Aichi said. He was now close enough where he could reach out and touch Kai.

"… Why?"

"Please," The blue haired boy murmured.

Kai looked at the other confused then closed his eyes unsure of what was about to happen. Seconds later, he felt Aichi holding his hands. Was Aichi giving him something as thanks for hanging out with him? But he didn't feel anything other than the other's hands… His eyes snapped open as the smaller boy kissed him on the lips. The brunet looked at Aichi shocked. He couldn't believe the smaller boy was kissing him. Before he could close his eyes and reciprocate, Aichi pulled away letting go of his hands as well. The brunet narrowed his eyes looking annoyed. Why did Aichi pull away?

The blue haired boy's face was pink as he avoided Kai's gaze. The brunet probably hated him now. "U-Um… T-That was um… athankyoufortoday. Goodnight."

Before Kai could reply, the blue haired boy took off intending on entering his house and crying because he ruined his relationship with his idol. The brunet ran after him his arm shooting out to grab the other's wrist before he made it to the front door. Aichi stopped letting out a surprised noise as his idol grabbed his wrist. Before he could say anything though, Kai made him turn around and immediately brought him into an embrace. The blue haired boy let out another surprised noise. Kai was hugging him?

"… Don't run away after kissing me, idiot. Don't you want to know my feelings?"

Aichi looked up at him surprised. Kai didn't hate him? "Y-You don't h-hate me?"

"Of course not, you idiot. It is the opposite actually," Kai muttered looking away from Aichi a pink flush on his cheeks. He really hoped the other boy understood his indirect confession. There was no way he could confess his feelings directly.

Aichi gaped at him face flushing pink at the other's words. Kai felt the same as him? Was this a dream?

The brunet looked at Aichi wondering why he was so silent. Understanding the reaction, he smirked. "… Aichi. Bugs are going to fly in your mouth if you aren't careful."

The blue haired boy closed his mouth looking embarrassed. He looked down at his feet for a few moments then looked back up at his idol. "M-Me too. I feel the same as you, Kai-kun."

Kai smiled at him then leaned in to kiss Aichi on the lips. Aichi smiled, closed his eyes; wrapped his arms around the brunet and kissed back. The brunet closed his eyes contently. He was very happy Aichi felt the same as him.

As they continued to kiss each other, neither heard the front door opening or the surprised gasp.

"Aichi! You are home late!"

Aichi and Kai stopped kissing and pulled away from each other. They looked towards Aichi's front door to see Sendou Emi standing there with her hands on her hips.

"Sheesh! Stop kissing Kai-san and hurry up and come inside," Emi said.

Aichi and Kai's cheeks flushed pink as they looked away from Emi. A few awkward moments later, the blue haired boy looked back at Emi and giggled nervously as his younger sister tapped her foot impatiently. "Good night, Aichi. See you tomorrow," Kai said smiling at him.

Aichi smiled brightly at him. "Un. Good night, Kai-kun. See you tomorrow."

Kai nodded at Emi then walked away from Aichi's house. As he walked away, he heard Emi interrogating Aichi about how his date went. A smile went onto his face once more. While Miwa and other people had called it a date, he and Aichi hadn't seen it that way.

Would that change from now on? Yes, he was sure of it.

**ZZZZZZZZZZZZ**

**Author Notes: **Hope you guys enjoyed this story. Was tempted to write more but decided not to. If you have time, please review. I would love to know what you thought of my story.

See you next time!


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